Sympathy
by Unresolved Emotions
Summary: There are two universal laws in the world. The first is that all women can perform sympathy. The other is that no matter what they say, men cannot. Drabble.


I don't own The Kingkiller Chronicle or its characters.

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**Sympathy**

There are two universal laws in the world. The first is that all women can perform sympathy. The other is that no matter what they say, men cannot. By all accounts, Denna was one of the best in the art.

Sympathy requires a link between two objects, preferably ones that are similar in nature. Dissimilar ones will require more energy to maintain the connection and only the most talented sympathists are able to do so for an extended period of time. Men must go to the University to learn laws and theorems that explain this phenomenon through math and science. Women understand this intuitively.

It is a well-documented fact that many men tried to capture Denna's heart through emeralds and diamonds. They attempted to bind her with poems and sonnets. None of them understood what she desired most: freedom. Simply put, all her suitors built their relationships using the wrong medium of love. When the pressure became unbearable, Denna merely severed the link, knowing when and how to cut her losses short. There was no negotiation; a faulty link could only end in failure.

However, women are not infallible in this arcane field. Mistakes are made and seemingly solid links are shattered. As Denna could verify, becoming the best is trial-and-error at its very best.

A common use of sympathy is the transfer of heat between two bodies. To make one object hot, the other most become cold. When Denna's suitors became engulfed in their flames of passion, Denna became cold and distant.

This was not always the case. If there was one person who shared a mutually strong link with her, it was Kvothe. Their relationship was aloof and flirtatious, simple and complex. It was the perfect combination for Denna.

When she attempted to strengthen their bond, the falling out was explosive. Performing her secretive composition for Kvothe was a grave mistake. It added too many emotions to the relationship, too much energy. Their link, as strong as it was, could not retain the passion. What occurred after was an explosion. Words were said and insults slung and by the end of the argument, the two were left jaded, unsympathetic towards the other's plight.

That's not to say that the blame lies solely with Denna. They said that Kvothe was a brilliant arcanist, his mind quick and agile. Obviously, these historians didn't know about his link with Denna. She wanted more, yet he couldn't see it. In the gardens of Alveron, she offered herself to him, allowing Kvothe to hold her, should he please. He was blind and like any man, failed to seize the opportunity.

In a duel, sympathists need to be bold and decisive. Not reckless, but assertive enough to grasp the unknown without fear of being stung. She had told him _the answer is yes_. Denna would have done anything he asked. Kvothe had been too timid to do more than ask to lie next to her. She should've known better because he was a man and as such, the red-haired arcanist was hopeless in sympathy. Women have to initiate each advance, even if they must supply the energy themselves.

So she did. When Denna left town again, she forever changed the boundaries of their relationship. While it might seem like a rather insignificant detail, informing Kvothe of her departure was another step in the sympathetic process. She fueled the change and he accepted it.

By all rights, Denna was a world-class sympathist. She didn't know of the intricacies of bond formation, or of the thermodynamics of heat transfer. She couldn't say when an explosion might occur or how much heat would be released. But she did know how to manipulate bonds to get what she wanted and that's all sympathy really is.

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Author's Note:

I was writing up another story for The Kingkiller Chronicle(and it will be done shortly) when this muse came to my head. I thought it was an interesting topic and it was relatively simple to write, so I spent an hour or two working on it. It was particularly interesting for me since I'm a chemistry major and there are some links between sympathy and chemistry.

The story I'm currently working on is a one-shot of Kvothe and Denna, so check in a few days for a story called 'Silence' or something similar to it. Until then... :)


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